Foldable razor



July 24, 1956 FOLDABLE RAZOR Fild m 13,- 1955 Francis J. Hu/kenberg, Jr.

INVENTOR.

BY WWW mm F. J. HULKENBERG, JR 2,755,549

United States Patent FOLDABLE RAZOR Francis J. Hulkenberg, Jr., Fort Worth, Tex.

Application May 13, 1955, Serial No. 508,077

Ciaims. (CI. 30-47) The present invention relates to razors and more particularly relates to foldable safety razors.

The primary object of the present invention is in the provision of a novel, foldable safety razor which may be folded into a small size package suitable for carrying in a pocket or as a portion of a portable shaving kit.

In general, the invention is directed to a foldable safety razor comprising a head and a handle, wherein the handle is in foldable sections which are hinged to one another and which may be locked in alignment with one another and wherein the handle is slidably and swingably connected to the head of the razor whereby the same may be locked rigidly in position relative to the head for shaving or folded parallel to the head in a position for carrying A highly important object of the invention is in the provision of a novel head to handle mounting wherein the handle may be locked to the head for shaving and slid to a position adjacent one end of the head for folding relative to the head.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of the razor constituting the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the razor;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the razor in its folded position;

Figure 4 is a top elevational view of the guard plate of the head of the razor with parts being shown in cross-section to disclose the attachment of the handle thereto;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view through the guard plate taken substantially along the plane of section line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the lane of section line 66 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view through the hinged sections of the handle taken substantially along the plane of section line 7-7 of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper end portion of the handle; and

Figure 9 is a top view of the handle disclosing the manner in which the side walls of the upper end portion of the handle may be resiliently pressed toward one another.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the foldable razor is designated in its entirety by the numeral 10 and is seen to comprise basically a head 12 and a handle 14.

The head 12 consists of a guard plate 16 upon which the blade of the razor is adapted to be seated for shaving and a clamping plate 18 adapted to clamp the razor blade on the guard plate. The clamping plate 18 is provided at the ends thereof with downwardly projecting resilient clips 20 which clamp over the guard plate 16 to retain the clamping plate 18 in place.

2,755,549 Patented July 24, 1956 ice The guard plate 16 is also provided with a longitudinally extending slot 22 extending from the central portion thereof and opening into one end thereof intermediate the side edges of the guard plate. The guard plate 16 is further provided with longitudinally extending grooves 24 which open into the slot 22 on opposite sides thereof in facing relation to one another. The grooves 24 are downturned at their outer ends, as at 26, the outer ends of the grooves being closed. The guard plate 16 of the head 12 'is further provided with a locking recess 28 opening into one of the grooves 24 for locking the handle 14 in position in a manner which will become presently apparent.

The handle 14 consists of upper and lower sections 30 and 32, respectively. The sections are hinged to one an-,

other as by hinge 34. The lower end portion of the upper section 30 of the handle is provided with a longitudi- I nal bore 36 therein within which is slidably disposed a pin 38 which normally projects below the lower end of the upper section 30 of the head 14. Resilient spring 40 is disposed in the bore 46 reacts against the base of the bore and the upper end of the pin 38 to normally press this pin outwardly. Actuating lug 42 extends outwardly from the pin 36 through a suitable slot 44 inthe lower end portion of the upper. section 30 of the handle whereby the pin 38 may be withdrawncompletely within the bore 36.

The upper end of the lower section32 of the handle 14 is provided with an upwardly opening socket 46 into which the pin 38 projects to lock the sections 30 and 32' of the handle 14 into longitudinal alignment with one another. When it is desired to fold the handle tothe position shown in Figure 3, the outwardly projecting portion of the lug 42 projecting through the slot 44 of the upper section 30 of the handle 14 is moved upwardly in the slot to withdraw the pin 38 from the recess 46 and thus permit pivoting movement of the handle sections relative to one another.

The upper portion of the upper section 30 of the handle 14 is hollowed out, as at 48, so that this portion of the handle consists of spaced side walls 50 and 52, respectively, and one end wall 54, the other end being open. With this construction, as will be noted particularly from an examination of Figure 9, the side walls are permitted to flex towards one another upon the application of pressure thereto adjacent the open end of the upper portion of the upper section 30 of the handle.

Outwardly projecting from the side walls 50 and 52 at the upper ends adjacent the corners thereof are pins 56 and 58, respectively. The pins 56 are in reality the end portions of an elongated reinforcing bar 60 which extends across and is attached to the top of the end wall 54 of the upper section 30 of the handle 14.

The ends of the reinforcing bar 60 which constitute the previously mentioned pins 56 ride in the grooves 24 formed on the guardplate 16 of the head 12 of the razor. In assembling the handle 14 and guard plate 16, the bar 60, before it is attached, is inserted in the slot 22 longitudinally thereof and then turned crosswise of the slot to insert its ends, forming the pins 56, into the grooves 24 after which said bar 60 is attached to the top of the wall 54 by any suitable means.

The pins 58 likewise ride in the grooves 24 so that the handle 14 is slidable from the central portion of the guard plate 16 toward the end thereof through the slot 22.

As noted previously, the side walls 50 and 52 are capable of fiexure toward and away from one another and are consequently resilient so that the pins 58 normally press into the bases of the grooves 24. By this arrangement, as the handle is slid along the grooves 24 toward the central portion of the guard plate 16, at the limit of this movement, one of the pins 58 moves into the lockto lag recess 23 and is releasably locked therein to rigidly and fixedly attach the handle 14 centrally of the head 12 of the razor. When so attached, the razor is in position for use, as shown in Figure 2.

To collapse the razor, it is simply necessary to first press the sides 50 and 52 of the razor toward one another to release the pins 58 from the grooves 24 and also from the locking recess 28; when this is done, the handle 14 may be swung to a position parallel to the head 12. Sliding movement of the handle along the grooves until the pins 56 seat in the downturned portions 26 of the grooves 24 moves the handle to a position in juxtapositionwith the head 12 of the razor and prevents further sliding movement of the handle within the grooves. At this time, or previously thereto, the lug 42 may be moved upwardly in the slot 44 to release the pin 38 from therecess '46 in the lower section 32 of the handle 14 so that these sections of the handle may be swung to a position parallel to one another. The result of these folding movements is, of course, the folded razor as shown in Figure 3.

The utilization of the slot 22, grooves 24 and the partic'ular upper end connections of the handle 14 thereto provides an exceedingly simple sliding and swinging movement for the handle of the razor relative to the head for folding the same, while at the same time, resulting in an extremely rigid fixed connection when the razor is assembled or unfolded for use which is yet readily releasable and practically fool-proof since the only moving parts necessitated are the resiliency of the side walls St} and 52 of the upper section 30 of the handle 14.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modfications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

11. A foldable razor comprising a head and a handle, said head including a guard plate having a pair of spaced, longitudinally extending grooves extending from the central portion toward one end thereof, said handle having a pair of spaced pins projecting from each side at the upper end thereof received in each of said grooves, the upper end portion of said handle having the side walls resiliently movable toward one another to release one pin of each pair from said grooves, wherebythe handle may be swung relative to the head.

2. A foldable razor comprising a head and a handle, said head including a guard plate having a pair of spaced, longitudinally extending grooves extending from the central portion toward one end thereof, said handle having a pair of spaced pins projecting from each side at the upper end thereof received in each of said grooves, the upper end portion of said handle having the side walls resiliently movable toward one another to release one pin of each pair from said grooves, whereby the handle may be swung relative to the head, said head having a locking recess opening into one of said grooves, one of said pins seating in said recess to rigidly lock the handle to the head.

3. A foldable razor comprising a head and a handle, said head including a guard plate having a pair of spaced, longitudinally extending grooves extending from the central portion toward one end thereof, said handlehaving a.

pair of spaced pins projecting from each side at the upper end thereof received in each of said grooves, the upper end portion of said handle having the side walls resiliently movable toward one another to release one pin of each pair from said grooves, whereby the handle may be swung relative to the head, said grooves having downturnedend portions, the other pin of each pair of pins being movable into downturned end portions upon release of said one pin fromsaid grooves to enable swinging the handle to a position parallel to the head.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said handle comprises sections having ends hinged together for swinging of the sections into and out of alignment with one another.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said hinged together ends are provided with releasable means retaining the sections of said handle in alignment with one another.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,017,166 Paddington Feb. 13, 1912 2,133,576 Rud Oct. 18, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 148,581 Great Britain Aug.-5, 1920 

